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Villanova Taps IDS Scheer and Cognos Apps for BPM Course

By Dian Schaffhauser

08/17/09

The Villanova University School of Business has adopted software from IDS Scheer and IBM for use in one of its courses. "Business Intelligence for Performance Management," first offered in Spring 2009, features IDS Scheer's business process management (BPM) application, ARIS PPM (process performance manager), and IBM Cognos 8.3 BI (business intelligence) software. According to the faculty member who designed the course, the class covers business intelligence with a focus on performance management. It will be offered again in Spring 2010.

"I was looking for various business intelligence software tools and packages," said Wenhong Luo. "Besides ARIS PPM and IBM Cognos, I also evaluated Hyperion, MicroStrategy, and Microsoft SQL Server (Analysis and Reporting Services). Although I could have substituted IBM Cognos with one of the other packages, ARIS PPM is unique in its process focus. While other packages are great in slicing and dicing multidimensional data, ARIS PPM allows us to gain insights from business process data, show relationships among process KPIs, and integrate with SAP."

As part of the first course, students presented BPM projects to a panel of judges, which included a BPM architect from pharma firm Wyeth, an IDS Scheer customer.

"With ARIS PPM, I was able to show students business process intelligence," said Luo. "Business intelligence is not just about interactive reports and dashboards. It is about actionable insights. Students learned how to generate business insights from process data, present the insights using reports and dashboards, and implement business insights through process change."

In October 2008 Villanova joined IDS Scheer's academic network, which provides the ARIS technology at a discount, as well as course materials including case studies, exercises, documentation, and a tutorial to set up a demonstration client. Besides process intelligence and performance management, the network also offers partnerships that feature IDS Scheer's process design and analysis software, ARIS Business Architect, and Simulator. Other institutions in the network include Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Widener University in Chester, PA, and Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, among many others.

Villanova is located in Villanova, PA and has about 6,400 students.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business for a number of publications. Contact her at dian@dischaffhauser.com.